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Old 1 Aug 19, 05:21 PM  
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kk20
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Adventure to the land of the rising sun Day 3

Index - https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1139534

Started the day more refreshed than we thought we would be. The idea would be to get into DisneySea at (or soon after) opening. We still have a habit of calling it "rope drop" after DLP EMH queuing time...

Breakfast was kept in the fridge overnight, jams, croissants, fruit juice, bagals and ham. The fridge became super useful. We were going to take a picnic lunch in with us but decided against it as the hotel is only 15 mins from the park entrance so we didnt want to lug it about with us.

Got to the park at 8:15 and the queue was already inside which was nice. Not a huge amount of people by the look of things either. Park was predicted to be "below normal" (and the app said the park was "normal" later - but that didnt stop us going on a lot of things!)



The theme is pirate summer at the moment and whilst we dont do any shows today, we do enjoy the shows later in the week.



The plan of action was to ignore toy story, go get fast passes for Journey to the Center of the Earth, then head to Indiana Jones. This meant we avoid the queues for two big ticket items. The theming for Indiana Jones is spot on, really good in fact. As a whole, this sets the scene for DisneySea - basically a theming nirvana. Indiana jones is not like the DLP one, it is more a themed bumpy car ride - a very good one, recommended.



We were intending on riding Raging spirits next, but according to the app it is currently down. As we walked past it, true to the app it is so we carry on to Jasmine carpets. The transition is quite subtle and again top notch theming.



Just before we queue for carpets (all low queues so far - 10 mins for Indiana and no queue for carpets) out come a swathe of characters, Genie, Abu, Daisy as Jasmine, Jafar and not a lot of people asking for autographs. A good haul!





A good ride on Jasmine Flying Carpets



then according to the app, Raging Spirits is open again. This is a great bonus of the app as it not only shows queues but also when fast pass return times are (good for planning fast passes) and if a ride is up or temporarily down.

Raging spirits is very similar to DLP indiana jones.



Time for a wee break and some shopping around Agrabah. Sinbads adventure is closed this week (which we knew about).




After quick refeshments we head into the undersea kingdom. A large indoor collection of mini rides, mainly aimed at smaller children but equally suited to big kids (us). As per the rest of DS, everything is themed well. The queues are quite high here so we dont linger too long. Although you cannot see properly in the picture, all the strollers are lined up perfectly and each one has handbags, shopping bags etc all left unattended. Theft is almost unheard of.



Our fastpass to Journey to Center of the Earth isnt too far off so we head back to the middle. But, along the way I check the app again and notice something odd, something that will become a theme. Look at the time of issue on this fastpass and look at the return time.



Thats right, I got the FP at 12:03 and the return time was 12:05 and the standby queue was 35 minutes - go figure. This happens a lot for quite a few rides (except the major ticket ones - FP run out after an hour for toy story, maybe 3 hours for Journey etc). The other thing about FPs is that you can get another 2 hours after snagging the last one - so even if you get a FP for Toy story at 08:45 that has a return time of 19:30 (seriously) then you can get another FP at 10:45. This again has a good use of the app to plan your day.

20000 leagues under the sea is a great idea, you are in a small submarine sat in pairs and control a spotlight as you go under water. Very well done and you can sit in three separate positions for a slightly different ride each time.



we checked the app and most rides were on 35 mins+ queue so we decided to go get a FP for ToT, try our luck at the show lottery and have a siesta.



Met Marie on the way to ToT and we didnt manage to get any shows on the lottery - oh well.



On the way to our hotel for lunch and a siesta we found goofy and chip (or possibly dale, there was only one of them). Characters are everywhere in Disneysea and there doesnt seem to be a time pattern.



The monorail again helped us get back in less than 10 minutes - the trains are a maximum of 6 minutes apart and it is about 3 minutes between each of the four stations - Bayside (for the partner hotels), disneysea, maihama and disneyland.

It looks automated but isn't, there is a driver/conductor at the back. This leaves the front free for guests.



Lunch was grabbed from the shop in the hotel, the shop is stocked with snack food and ready meals, drinks, pot noodles and various dehydrated meals. This was totally unexpected in a 4* hotel and very much appreciated. Prices were on par with the supermarket too which surprised us even more.

Back into the park for ToT. Obviously the whole ride is in Japanese and the overlay is also japanese but if you have been on the more modern ToT then you know the hightower story :-D It should be noted that even with a fastpass you have about a 10 minute queue. This is also the same for Indiana Jones. Some FP get you pretty much to the front (BTM in the other park and raging spirits).



The shop (like all the shops) is very well presented.



But I must say the shops overall are a disappointment. They all stock pretty much the same things. In DLP (for example) shops next to rides typically stocked a lot of items from that "theme". Not so here, you have to go to a couple of shops in the main street area if you want different items. For example, we were looking for bags/backpacks, jasmine themed ones. You would think these would live in the main park in the Agrabah area. We found one in DisneySea clothing shop...



The day sets pretty quickly in Japan. Sundown is at 7pm so from 5.30 you start to get twilight. We havent been over to Nemo yet so we take the electric train over to the other side.



Alas my phone is not the best in the dark so is quite blurry when moving. Still, the waterfront is beautiful in the evening time. When it gets dark proper it really does look lovely. To think that the Miracosta hotel overlooks all that!



Another note on the cast members. Remember when I said everyone waves? Even the people sweeping up wave at people passing by on the trains or boats. It really does cheer you up.



Nemo has a queue of 40 minutes (oh no) and a fastpass return time in 5 minutes (wait, what?). Get FP, go to toilet, redeem FP, yey!



It is about 19:30 now and getting dark. The big ticket rides all have queues of 130 minutes (Toy story, Indiana Jones, Journey to Center of earth and Raging spirits - FP for all have run out long ago). But Agrabah queues are all 10 mins and under. We take a slow walk around the lake taking in the evening, made all the better with some chocolate popcorn (the curry popcorn is much better than it sounds, the blueberry popcorn is foul). The double decker carousel is lovely in the night.



With rumbling tummies and having done just about all the park and rides (except Toy Story), we decide to head back to Ikspiari and grab some food from the food court.



Another great day, we decide that a lie in is in order and set the alarm for 9AM. Disnleyland park tomorrow (I'm not sure on the official name, is it still Magic Kingdom? Not sure if it is just Disneyland...)

Notes:

28627 steps according to fitbit. The kids are running Pokemon go and reckoned close to 14Km. Yikes.

The hotel shop is excellent and since there is a kettle and fridge it is quite easy to eat on the cheap. Combined with the monorail and ease of access it is quicker to get back to your room that it is to queue for food. Queues for food can be longer than rides - upwards of 40min queues is not uncommon and this is still lower season as the children havent broken up for school yet (yey for the Scottish system!)

Everyone is so polite. It is the little extras that make your day, people queue nicely, people sit down for parades, even the trains are nice and orderly. We like it here and dont want to leave.

Edited at 11:13 AM.
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Old 3 Aug 19, 01:08 PM  
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Gunna
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Really enjoying this report. Would love to go to Japan one day and Disney would be a definite must-do.
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Old 3 Aug 19, 10:38 PM  
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redfox5
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Sounds great!

I am gutted Journey to the Centre of the Earth is closed when I go

Is this the official Disney app you are using? I heard it was all in Japanese?
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Old 4 Aug 19, 10:18 AM  
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Alidoll
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Looks fabulous! Can I ask what hotel you stayed at there? Thinking of staying at the Sheraton or Hilton but not sure which one would be better..
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Old 4 Aug 19, 07:19 PM  
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kk20
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The disney app is all in japanese. If you dont speak or read any japanes then you can still get a lot out of it. This is an English equivalent planning and live queue site

en.disneyreal.asumirai.info/r...ait-today.html

We stopped at okura bay as a points member with preferred hotel. This got us vouchers for an almost free breakfast (a spoiler for day 5).

Sheraton and Hilton are neighbours. In all honesty I cant see how you can go wrong with any of those 3.

Edited at 07:23 PM.
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Old 8 Aug 19, 11:29 PM  
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redfox5
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I cant find it on the app store. I get every other Disney park come up except Tokyo. I'll try again when I am in Japan.
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Old 9 Aug 19, 12:05 PM  
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kk20
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it seems it is only available locally. I removed the app to free up space on my phone, if I go via the direct link it is no longer available in my country. There are other apps but I simply used the official one at the website I posted, those were good enough.
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Old 11 Aug 19, 09:36 AM  
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Fantasmic there is amazing. I agree with you, the shops are disappointing - mostly featuring dry biscuits in tins with unusual flavours, cleaning utensils and ladies' clothes. I guess for a Japanese audience.
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Old 5 Jan 20, 09:41 PM  
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Yay so happy I stumbled on this! was this a July trip (sorry stupid question, was just surprised by the clothing - thought it was warm in July)-how did you find it?

Off to read the rest xx
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Old 12 Jan 20, 02:30 PM  
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kk20
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Variable. Think Caribbean weather, hot but showery and humid. Kyoto was very Caribbean weather in feel.

Contrary to many sites we saw locals in shorts and t shirts everywhere except Tokyo business areas. Socks always though.

An aside but we carried cheap hotel slippers for temples. We were nodded and smiled at a number of times doing this (we took it as a positive gesture as you saw horrified looks with some tourists in bare feet.)
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